With that in mind, I wanted to share some insights I picked up through Bloomberg Businessweek when they asked graduates to reflect on their own MBA experiences and to share snippets of advice with new students and applicants.‍

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The question: ‍

What advice do you wish you’d been given when you were first starting your MBA program?”
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• Start networking immediately!
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• Tailor your story.
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• Have good answers when they ask you why you came back to bschool, what have you done professionally so far, etc.
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• Focus more on your passion. Following your passion and applying it to your community = happiness.
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• Network with a group of different people with different skills and start something!
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• Smile, be nice, be open – you never know who will be your next business partner, mentor, or best friend!
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• Don’t do what others think you should do, or what everyone else is doing. Decide what you want and hustle to get it.
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• Don’t come in thinking you will figure it out here. Think hard and strong about what you want out of it before you get here.
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• Unless you are ready to face the real world by all its means and facts, and unless you are ready to begin the journey of “Change” in all the aspects of your life, then you better look for something else to do.
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• Realize that a MBA provides you with a great, technical foundation to build success upon, but not THE key to success.
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• Be prepared to learn just as much, if not more, after graduation and upon beginning your career.
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• Develop other skills. No employer wants to know that you completed an MBA program.
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• It’s more of an enhancement than a starting point.